Columns

From the category archives: Columns

As we enter Holy Week, and journey through the events of Christ's passion and death, we find ourselves once again beneath the cross with Mary. At first glance, she doesn't appear to be doing anything there. Scripture doesn't record any of her words or cries of protest.

However, Father Ron Rolheiser notes that her presence at the crucifixion is a Hebrew show of strength. She is standing firm and "pondering" in the biblical sense, beholding the work of God.

When my goddaughter was very young, I took her to Mass at my church. She sat quietly on my lap, absorbed in contemplation. It was Jesus who lived in that little gold house behind the altar. She frowned in puzzlement as she pondered this mystery, obviously wondering why she couldn't see him.

Suddenly, her face cleared. With a delighted smile, she turned to me and exclaimed with childlike logic, "I know why Jesus is hiding. He wants me to come and find him!"

When my firstborn daughter was baptized, Father Michael consecrated her to God through our Blessed Mother. He picked up Hannah — a squalling bundle swathed in layers of white satin - and held her up toward the statue of Mary enthroned above the tabernacle.

This tiny miracle, born on Christmas Day, was a special gift from God after years of prayer and expectant longing. In gratitude, I now offered my precious child back to God. I trusted that Mary would take care of Hannah by interceding for her at the feet of her Son.

Thirty years ago, Stephen Spielberg directed the blockbuster adventure movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The plot followed the search for the Jewish Ark of the Covenant, the golden chest housing the stone tablets on which God wrote his Ten Commandments. The movie followed the fictitious conflict between American Army Intelligence and the Nazis in their efforts to own the Ark.